End Of Days
by dudelove85
Summary: Five months after defeating the Legion of Deboss, the former Dino Charge Rangers have settled back into their normal lives. When a remnant of the Legion is found the team is called to action again. This time the enemy uses one of their own weapons against them, the long lost Spino Zord. If the Rangers can't win, it will mean the end of the world. [ON HIATUS]
1. Five Months Later

_Chapter 1 – Five Months Later..._

Hunston Valley, California. A thriving city in the north of the West Coast state. The city is famous for its long coast line, marine industry and more recently, as the home of the Dino Charge Power Rangers. Just over five months ago the city witnessed the final battle between the dinosaur powered heroes and the Legion of Deboss. The city suffered significant losses but ultimately the Rangers emerged victorious again the prehistoric villains.

The ten Rangers that made up the team were heroes in the city, amongst most of the population anyway. There were a few dissident voices but they were dwindling with each passing day. Whilst the identity of the Rangers had been suppressed by the state Governor, the local residents knew exactly who to thank for keeping them safe. In keeping with their desire to continue living normal lives, no fuss was made when one of the team ventured into the city. Some business owners might have tried to give them special discounts but humbly, the team refused.

Of course some of the team had left the city after the final battle. Rumour had it that the Gold Ranger had gone travelling with his new girlfriend, the Silver Ranger had set off on a new archaeological quest and the Blue Ranger was working on a new project somewhere else in the state. The city was at peace, the team could afford to take things a little easier, "Chase Randall, God damnit if you don't get your backside out of that bathroom in the next 30 seconds I'm going to kill you". Well, in theory anyway.

One secret the Rangers had been able to keep was the location of their base. Christened the Dino Mansion, the home belonging to the original Red Ranger, Jason Lee Scott, had seen plenty of action during their tour of duty. At one point all the active Rangers had lived their but now just five were still there. "Chase, hurry up you ignorant asshole", a loud banging on the bathroom door reverberated down the hallway of the Dino Mansion. Shelby Watkins pounded her fist against the door in a vain attempt to hurry up the daily grooming process of her former team mate, "Seriously this isn't cool", she banged one last time and added, "dick".

"Shel, what the hell", the sleepy voice of Kiera Cranston called out from her bedroom door. Her brown hair was a tangled mess and she hugged her arms against her shoulders, keenly aware that she was standing in the hallway dressed in her pyjamas, "Some of us are trying to sleep".

"Yeah well some of us", Shelby shouted towards the bathroom door, "have places to be today".

Kiera groaned and grabbed Shelby by the arm, tugging her firmly into the bedroom she shared with Chase, "Sit", she commanded, "and tell me what's gotten you so worked up this morning".

Shelby couldn't help but smile. She remembered the first time she met Kiera face to face. The Purple Ranger had been painfully shy, almost to the point of anti-social. The team quickly noticed that she didn't have a problem barking orders out through the comms during a battle though. The more time she spent with the team, the more she grew in confidence. "Sorry Kiera", she sighed, "I'm meeting my Dad today, I've been late on the last few occasions. I just want everything to go well".

The former Purple Ranger sighed and nodded sagely. Shelby was the daughter of Tyrelle Watkins, a Super Bowl winning football player turned commentator. She could've lived off her father's money for the rest of her life but Shelby wanted to something other than a rich heiress. Father and daughter had fallen out in dramatic fashion, leading to the Pink Ranger moving out of the family home. Their relationship had been patched up but it hadn't gone back to what it had been. Father's Day was fast approaching and Shelby really wanted to make an effort, "Trust me Shel everything will be fine", Kiera tried to reassure her friend, "your Dad will still love you, even if you're a few minutes late".

"Thanks Kiera", Shelby smiled, "hey what about your Dad, got anything planned for Father's Day?" Kiera father, Billy, lived on the planet Aquitar with her mother Cestria. The Purple Ranger was a Human/Aquitian hybrid although with far more Human traits, forcing her parents to send her to Earth under Jason's care. Following the final battle Kiera used the Plesio Zord to travel home for the first time in thirteen years. Against the advice of many she had taken Chase with her. Fortunately the Black Ranger hadn't caused an intergalactic incident. If anything the Cranston family and the Aquitians had been thoroughly charmed by the former soldier.

"Only this", Kiera held up a large metallic box complete with valves and numerous wires. There was even a circuit board attached to the outside that hummed when the former Purple ranger activated the device. Shelby turned it over in her hands, she wasn't stupid but she had absolutely no idea what this was, "It's a communication device", Kiera stated, answering the Pink Ranger's unasked question. "Communication between Earth and Aquitar is patchy at best but with this, I should be able to call my parents whenever I want".

Suddenly Shelby's lateness problem seemed insignificant to Kiera. At least Shelby could call home whenever she wanted and didn't need to invent some hideously complicated contraption just to speak to her parents. The former Pink Ranger suddenly lunged across the bed and threw her arms around her best friend. Kiera was so shocked that she almost dropped her invention, "Hey what's this for?" Kiera asked.

"Just because", Shelby replied, still with a tight grip on Kiera, "do I need a reason to hug my best friend".

"Ooh what's this I spy", they heard a voice call out from the doorway. Leaning against the frame with an amused look on his face was Tyler Navarro, the former Red Ranger and Shelby's boyfriend, "Just how long has this been going on for?" he chuckled. In response Shelby grabbed one of Kiera's pillows and threw it at her boyfriend, "Hey what's a guy to think, finding his girl in bed with another woman".

"If that guy wants to have his girl in his bed again, he'll get his mind out of the gutter immediately", Shelby said darkly.

"Geez lighten up Shel", Tyler replied, throwing his hands up defensively, "I told you, Tyrelle won't mind if you're a few minutes late".

"Thank you", Kiera added as she caught the pillow that Tyler threw back.

Tyler smiled as Shelby nodded gently in agreement. He then turned his attention to the bathroom door, "Chase still in there?" the girls nodded in agreement, "maybe he has what Chloe's got, I heard her in there before she went to work. Not something you really need to hear your boss doing", he added with a look of disgust.

Chloe Yuzuki was the former Aqua Ranger, girlfriend to Jason as well as Tyler and Shelby's boss down at the local repair store, Valley Repairs. Her business was booming following the fall of the Deboss and she could barely keep up with order and repair jobs. Not only were Tyler, Shelby and Jason working nearly full time at the store, some days she even had to call on outside help. Her brother Koda worked out of Los Angeles these days on the new Rainbow Line railway network but he would still return home to help his older sister if she called. If that wasn't enough Chloe was a full time Mom to her eight year old daughter Kristy. No one she was feeling a little under the weather today.

"Now that you mention it, I feel a little dodgy today", Kiera rubbed her stomach.

"Me too", Shelby added, "could just be worked up because Chase", she shouted his name loudly, "is an inconsiderate asshole".

The bathroom door clicked open and Chase stepped out into the hallway with just a towel wrapped around his waist. He had a second towel in his hand which he was using to dry his hair, "Someone call my name", she said nonchalantly. Shelby groaned and forcefully pushed her way into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her, "Something I said?" he asked in confusion.

"Dude she's meeting her Dad in half an hour", Tyler groaned, "we spoke about this last night".

"Did we?" Chase thought for a moment before his face dropped, "holy shit I complete forgot about that", he slapped his hand against his forehead. He banged on the door and called out, "Shel I'm sorry, I'll make this up to you, I promise".

"You can do that by not cooking for us again", Tyler replied, "you've poisoned Chloe and possibly the other girls as well". Tyler walked down the hallway and then down the stairs, "I'll put some coffee on then I'm going to work", he called out, "I'll see you tonight".

Chase grumbled under his breath and made his way into his bedroom. Kiera was sitting at her desk fiddling with her communication device, "Your memory is shocking Chase", she stated without looking in his direction. She was wearing her red framed glasses whilst poking at the circuit board with a screwdriver, "How could you forgot that Shelby was meeting her Dad today?"

"We had a hectic day at work yesterday", Chase tried to defend himself, "you know, making the city safer in the name of the Silver Guardians". Both Chase and Kiera had jobs with the recently expanded Silver Guardians. Chase headed up the Hunston branch of officers whilst Kiera worked in the Cyber division of the organisation. "Speak of work, why are you still here?" Chase asked.

Kiera snorted, "Charming, since you're off today I've decided that I'm going to work from home".

"Isn't that corporate talk for sitting on the sofa watching daytime TV whilst pretending to work", Chase chuckled.

Kiera dropped her screwdriver, took off her glasses and glared at the former Black Ranger, "The nature of cyber crimes means that I don't need to be stuck in an office to work on a case. Plus you know that things have been slow since I busted those phishing scammers three weeks ago, I'm sure that Wes and Eric won't mind if I took things a little easy for a while".

"Wish I was on first name terms with the bosses", Chase grumbled under his breath.

"Well it's not what you know sometimes, it's who you know", Kiera slowly stood up and moved towards Chase, "since neither of us have many plans for today, perhaps we could do something together".

"Really", Chase raised an eyebrow, "what did you have in mind?" Kiera gave him a saucy smile, pulled him closer and gave him a firm kiss. With a quick flick of the wrist she removed his towel, leaving him as naked as the day he was born, "Miss Cranston, I do believe I've been a bad influence on you".

Kiera smirked and pushed him onto the bed, "Like you're complaining", she commented, straddling his waist and kissing him again. Life certainly was calm for the former Dino Charge Rangers, however, there is no such thing as a former Ranger. The call back to action could come at any time and what the team didn't know is that there was something lurking out there. The being in question was possibly more dangerous than Master Deboss and he was close to being uncovered. The pleasant calm surrounding Hunston Valley was about to be shattered.

 _ **A/N –**_ _The long awaited sequel to Heroes Of Their Time is finally here, I can't believe it's been over a year since I finished that story. I've had this idea bouncing around for a while but never really had the time to get on and write it. Anyone reading this chapter and thinking 'who the bloody hell is Kiera and Chloe and why is Jason involved', you probably should read "Heroes" first otherwise this isn't going to make sense. Essentially "Heroes" was my take on Dino Charge before the series was even broadcast as such it bares practically no resemblance to the TV series._

 _This isn't going to be a long story, can't see it being any more than 15 chapters if I'm honest. Next time we properly catch up with Chloe and Koda and Bastian Navarro, together with his new assistant, find something concerning..._


	2. Lay Of The Land

_Chapter 2 – Lay Of The Land_

 _Valley Repairs_

In the manager's office of Valley Repairs, Chloe tried her best to drink a glass of water but her stomach was rebelling against everything today. Chase promised the residents of the Dino Mansion a memorable meal based on a recipe that he picked up during his tour of duty with the army. It was certainly turning out to be memorable, she could never remember feeling so ill in her life. She allowed the water to settle was awaiting the inevitable sprint for the toilet when store's phone rang. Groaning loudly she fumbled around for the handset and placed it against her ear, "Valley Repairs Chloe speaking, how can I help?" she answered with a groggy tone.

" _Morning to you too sis"_ , she heard Koda's voice at the other end, _"late night or something"_ , he chuckled.

"No, Chase cooked for us last night", she could hear a sharp intake of breath from Koda, "I honestly haven't felt this bad since Amy Manson's birthday party when I was ten years old".

" _Wow I remember that"_ , Koda replied, _"that was a horrific few days for all of us"._

Chloe rubbed her stomach and sat forward in her seat, "I'm sure you didn't call just to hear about my stomach issues, how's things down in LA?"

Koda sighed, _"Slow, the company's been denied planning permission for it preferred route into Nevada"_. He paused for a moment before adding, _"If they can't smooth things out then the Rainbow Line won't open at all"._

"But all that hard work you've put in", Chloe cried, feeling bad for her brother.

" _Will all be wasted"_ , he groaned, _"I've spent the last few months getting the rolling stock working and now that's all been ruined by a bunch of bureaucrats"_. Chloe was sure she feel Koda's pain and disappointment hundreds of miles away, _"They're shutting down operations for a couple of weeks to sort things out so looks like I'm coming home"._

Chloe closed her eyes and not just because of the nauseous feeling in her stomach. Koda had put everything into this project, even moving to Los Angeles to be closer to the production team. It had been hard for both of them, the siblings had barely been more than a few minute's drive away from each other. To hear that project might be shut down permanently would be difficult for him, "Well your old room at the Dino Mansion is still available", Chloe stated, "I'm sure Kristy will love to have her Uncle Koda back, even if it is just for a few weeks".

" _Thanks sis"_ , Koda replied, _"I'm getting the next train to Hunston so I'd better go, look after yourself"._

"Yeah you too bro", Chloe switched the phone off and settled back into her chair again. No sooner had she done this there was a knock on her office door. She groaned and leaned forwards but instantly regretted that decision. She placed her head into her hands tried to stave off another wave of nausea, "Come in", she was able to groan out.

The door opened and a couple of familiar faces popped their heads in, "Wow you weren't kidding", Matt Griffin chuckled, "you look terrible".

"Your sympathy is overwhelming", Chloe grumbled. Matt and his younger brother Riley entered the office, keeping a safe distance from the former Aqua Ranger in case she was contagious, "Thanks for coming on such short notice", she added, "especially you Riley, I hope this doesn't interfere with your training".

Riley Griffin had been training hard in anticipation of the Fencing World Cup at the end of the year. He would be the youngest entrant in the competitions history, assuming he qualified. He had a qualifying tournament in a few days that he had been training for night and day. Fortunately the investment from Valley Repairs freed up both him and Matt from some duties around the family farm. To return the favour the Griffin brothers helped out around the store if they were needed. All the experience gained from fixing farming equipment came in handy occasionally, "Nah I'm about as ready as I'm going to be", Riley replied, "just no heavy lifting, can't afford to strain my back moving something".

"Yeah that old excuse", Matt snorted with laughter. He took another look at Chloe, she really was looking green around the gills, "You should go home Chloe, you won't do yourself any favours by trying to tough it out".

"It's just a bug, I'll be fine in a few...", her voice trailed off, she could feel something rising up from her stomach. She placed her hand over her mouth and sprinted out the office, nearly knocking Matt of his feet in the process.

"Remind me not to eat anything Chase has cooked", Riley sighed. Matt nodded slowly, wincing slightly as he heard Chloe retching in the toilet next door. The former Green Ranger pulling a bottle of water out of his backpack and placed it on Chloe's desk, "She'll thank me for that later", he said to his brother, "come on, let's get to work".

Matt took one look at the water bottle and snorted, "Kiss ass", before following his brother out the office.

 _Amazon Rainforest, Brazil_

A helicopter skimmed the tops of the tall trees of the Amazon Rainforest. It was blisteringly hot and extremely humid, typical weather for this part of the world. Sitting next to the helicopter pilot was the lead excavator on this dig, former Silver Ranger Bastian Navarro. Despite his name not being publically associated with the Dino Charge Rangers, job offers continued to pour in every day. He was arguably the most famous archaeologist in the world, apart from Lara Croft and Indiana Jones. And they were fictional characters.

Being a former Ranger had it benefits, good connections and access to regular funding were two of the biggest positives. Bastian had signed a near exclusive contract with Andrew Hartford and his organisation. The former mentor for Operation Overdrive would handle the business side of his expeditions, leaving Bastian to do what he loved the most, exploring. Looking through his binoculars, he saw something in the distance, "Over there", he pointed something out to the pilot.

The pilot followed his instructions and began to descend into a clearing in the dense forest. As the chopper hovered towards the ground he could see the rest of his support team and to his annoyance, a camera crew. One of the downsides of being the most famous non-fictional archaeologist was the attention he received. Bastian flat out refused to be on camera but grudgingly allowed television crews to film his discoveries. The moment he stepped off the helicopter he was greeting by a well groomed gentleman, "Bastian Navarro, fantastic to meet you", the man shook him vigorously by the hand, "Toby Henderson, presenter of Gateway To The Past", he wiggled his eyebrows, "perhaps you've seen the show".

Bastian grumbled under his breath, this man was exactly why he didn't want to get involved with the media. Everything about this presenter was superficial, from his perfectly groomed hair and shiny teeth all the way down his pristine hiking boots that looked like they'd only just come out the box. People like Toby Henderson would try and passed off the discoveries of others as their own simply because his was the face the public saw. Quite how he had been lumbered with this guy was beyond him, "Yes I have seen the show", Bastian said shortly, "lucky for you this is a Hartford sponsored dig". He leaned a little closer, "I heard that he's not too fond of you".

Toby ran his finger under his collar, "A simple misunderstanding I'm sure".

"Just remember who the lead archaeologist on this dig is", Bastian grunted. Toby fumbled over his words before deciding to retreat to the safety of his production company's trailer which had somehow been dragged out into the Amazon.

"Not his biggest fan then?" a young female voice called out from behind the former Silver Ranger. He turned around and saw a blonde haired woman dressed in green combat trousers and a dark coloured tank top. There was a pair of headphones around her neck and a clipboard in her hand, "He's already tried to hit on me three times today", she grumbled, "I threatened to feed him to a snake if he tried it again". Bastian chuckled softly at the woman's joke, "You're Tyler's Dad aren't you", she asked, "and the Silver Dino Ranger".

Bastian pulled the woman a little closer to him, making her yelp in surprise, "That's not common knowledge", he whispered dangerously, "who are you?"

"Chrissie", she gulped, "Christina McKenzie, I'm an old friend of Chase's. He told me all about the Ranger thing a few months ago".

"Did he", Bastian groaned, "well let's hope he entrusted our secret to the right person". He released Chrissie arm and took a step back, "So what brings you to this part of the world?" he asked a little more politely.

"Interning mostly", Chrissie replied, "I've just graduated from UCLA with a degree in Media. I'm trying to get my foot in the industries door", she looked past Bastian and directly at the posturing Toby Henderson, "even if it means working with creeps like that".

Bastian groaned and stared at the television presenter, he was really hamming it up for his gathered audience, "Stick close to me Chrissie, I'll make sure he doesn't bother you".

"Thanks but I can look out for myself", Chrissie replied, "my fiancée was a Marine until he was-", the words stuck in her throat, even after a year it was hard for her to discuss Jeremy death in Afghanistan with anyone. "He taught me how to protect myself against sleazy creeps like that", she added once she had regain the use of her voice.

The former Silver Ranger nodded, not willing to push the young woman about the death of her fiancée. He scanned the area and found the ruins that had interested him so much in the distance. Standing in the middle of the rainforest was a carved stone obelisk around ten feet tall. Most of the carvings had been worn away by the weather but there were still a couple of interesting things about the object. The first one was the location, it wasn't nearly any previously reported ancient ruins. The Amazon wasn't a hospitable place and very few civilizations had lived in the forest over the previous centuries. There were tribes definitely but none recorded that when as far back as the age of the obelisk.

That was the second most interesting feature of the stone pillar, if the carbon dating report was accurate it was millions of years old. If that was true than it probably existed at the time of the dinosaurs and to Bastian that screamed one thing, it was something related to his and the rest of the Dino Charge powers. There was no other evidence to back up Bastian's theory but he had this gut feeling. The last time he had a similar feeling was when he discovered the resting place of the Brachio Zord. "Are you alright", Chrissie asked him, "you kinda zoned out for a minute".

"Just surveying the land", he replied, "tell me Christina, did Chase tell you much about where our powers came from?"

"Not much", Chrissie replied, "his girlfriend launched into some complicated explanation but to be honest I understood about three words of what she said". She followed Bastian's gaze until it too rested on the stone obelisk, the moment she did a chill rushed over her body, "Weird", she muttered, "and please call me Chrissie, only my parents use my full name".

Bastian gave her a non committal smile and returned to the helicopter, leaving Chrissie to stare at the obelisk in the distance, "I've got a bad feeling about this", she said under her breath. She was finally able to tear herself away and returned to her duties with the film crew. Had she stayed just a few minutes longer, she would've seen the obelisk glow with a dark blue light.


	3. The Gathering Darkness

_Chapter 3 – The Gathering Darkness_

 _Hunston City Center_

The coffee shop in Hunston City Center was buzzing with excitement, it wasn't every day that a celebrity entered their establishment. The moment the door entered, the barista's behind the bar fought silently to be the one to get to serve them. The barista who got the honour shyly took the order, even taking a couple of attempts to make the drink. Just as she was taking payment, she asked quietly, "I'm sorry you must get asked this all the time but could I get a selfie?"

Tyrelle Watkins gave the young woman a small smile, "Not a problem".

The barista's laughed nervously and scratched her head, "Actually I was asking your daughter", Shelby's head snapped up in surprise, "forget the selfie, could you take our photo?" she added as she handed her phone over to Tyrelle. The former NFL superstar looked shell shocked for a moment before happily agreeing. Shelby hesitantly placed an arm around the woman's shoulder as she posed for the picture. When Tyrelle handed the phone back, the barista squealed with excitement when she checked the image.

"Remember you can't make that public", the former Pink Ranger reminded the woman.

"Totally", the barista smiled, "this is purely for my personal collection". Shelby had to smile as she watched the woman show off the photo to the other member's of staff.

Father and daughter squeezed their way between the tables, finding an empty one in the far corner of the establishment. The moment they sat down, Tyrelle stated, "I forget sometimes how famous you are in this city".

"That must've been deflating for your ego", Shelby replied with a grin. She stirred her coffee a couple of times before adding, "I don't think I've gotten used to it myself", she shrugged, "probably never will".

"Do you ever think about getting away from here?" Tyrelle asked, taking a swig of his coffee, "your job at that repair store can't be that rewarding".

"Dad don't start this again", Shelby groaned, "I enjoy working at the store. I get to work with my best friends every day whilst saving for a new apartment", she held up her hand to cut off her Dad's response, "and I know that you offered to lend me money to get somewhere but I'd rather do this myself".

Tyrelle tilt his head in deference, "I respect that but you can't blame a father for wanting to help his daughter". The pair fell into silence for a couple of moments as they concentrated on their coffee. Tyrelle offering to help his daughter financially had been a regular argument for the family ever since Shelby re-established contact. Their relationship was fragile at best and he didn't want to do anything to jeopardise that. Eventually Tyrelle lowered his cup and leaned across the table, "I do have a potential solution though, if you'll indulge your old man for a few minutes".

"Go on", Shelby replied hesitantly, not sure if she liked where this was going.

"The network is searching for a new sideline reporter for its football coverage", he began, "they're conducting open auditions in various locations across the country. One's being held tomorrow in Blue Bay Harbor, that's the final one in California". He paused to allow that information to sink in, "Its good money Shel, much more than you'd ever earn here. You'd be able to get your dream apartment in no time".

"Dad I know nothing about presenting", Shelby stated, "I don't know that much about football either. Plus how are they going to feel when Tyrelle Watkins' daughter walks into their audition".

Tyrelle held up his hand, "They've assured me that they will treat you exactly the same as anyone else".

"You've already spoken to them without consulting me first", the former Pink Ranger exclaimed, "not cool Dad".

"Actually they approached me", Tyrelle began, "my director remembered that you expressed an interest about presenting".

"Yeah a few years ago", Shelby interrupted her father, "I changed since then Dad".

Her father smiled and leaned across the table, grasping her hands, "Shelby you'd be a natural, you've got a great personality, you're funny, witty and you can think quickly on your feet". He gave her a reassuring smile, "If you can handle giant monsters then a few cameras won't be a challenge".

Shelby chewed on her lip for a few moments, her Dad was right she did want to be a television presenter when she was younger. She would spend hours each day practicing her delivery in front of a mirror. But that was an old version of Shelby, a version that five or six years ago would've been content with allowing her father to smooth her path into the industry. She had grown up a lot since then but the dream was still there. "Fine, it's just an audition right", she stated, "they must've seen thousands of people already".

"That's the spirit", Tyrelle smiled, "the gates open at the studio in Blue Bay at 9am", he gave her a cocky smile, "try not to be late". Shelby grumbled something about Chase under her breath before continuing to drink her coffee.

 _Amazon Rainforest, Brazil_

The rays of sunlight streamed through the heavy canopy of trees, illuminating the stony obelisk sitting in the middle of the forest. Parading in front of the stony object was Toby Henderson, maintaining the aura of a preening peacock. Gathered around him was a cameraman, Chrissie and an increasing exasperated Bastian. The former Silver Ranger had spent most of the morning examining the obelisk, meticulously taking notes for the presenter to follow. Unfortunately the man's ego saw him tear up most of the notes before he proceeded to complete his own. They were nowhere near as thorough as Bastian's and that forced Toby to pause filming to get some input from the lead archaeologist.

At least Bastian had managed to get something out of today, a close examination of the stone obelisk. Sadly he was no closer to determine its origin or what its purpose was. Something of this size would normally be used as a marker of some kind. Initial surveys hadn't found anything lurking underneath the surface but Bastian wanted to use the ultra sound equipment to get a definitive answer. He had hoped to do that this afternoon but Toby had insisted on doing his first piece to camera today, further fuelling Bastian's hatred of the man, "I'm sorry we're going to have to cut", the presenter groaned.

"What is it this time?" Chrissie grumbled, she had been allowed to direct this segment by the show's main producer to allow her to gain experience. The one thing she had learned so far was that she wasn't going to work with this presenter again.

"There's something making a noise in the trees", Toby replied, "it's affecting my delivery".

"I'm sure the native birds are terribly sorry for disturbing you", Bastian stated sarcastically, "we did try to move them along but they were obviously attracted by your magnetic personality".

Toby smiled in response, not grasping the concept of sarcasm. Bastian and Chrissie shared a quick look and somehow managed to stop themselves from bursting into hysterical laughter, "We're going to have to go again", the presenter huffed.

Exasperated from the day's proceedings, Chrissie closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Our daylight's fading, we're going to have to pick this up tomorrow". It was mostly true the sun was beginning to set but the junior producer had simply had enough of the presenter's attitude.

"Now listen to me girl", Toby snapped, "I'm the star of this show, if I say we're going to shoot again then we damn well will".

Bastian wanted to step forward and throttle the man but Chrissie stopped him with a wave of her hand. She took a couple of steps closer to Toby and held up a light meter that was dangling around her neck. She took a couple of readings, exaggerating each movement, before saying, "Fair enough Mr Henderson", she turned to the cameraman and said, "try not to zoom too much, dim light tends to exaggerate bags under the eyes".

Instantly Toby reached his hand to his face, "Well maybe it is a little dark", he mumbled, "good job today everyone", he added and hurried towards his trailer, making sure to keep his face covered.

"That was priceless", the cameraman chuckled once Toby was out of earshot, "I'll have to remember that one in future".

"I aim to please", Chrissie smiled, removing her headphones, "get your stuff packed up safely Ed, when we opened the crates this morning I found three scorpions making themselves at home". Ed the cameraman nodded in appreciation before returning to the filming.

Once they were alone, Bastian approached the young woman with a small smile of respect on his face, "Most impressive", he began, "I was fully prepared to strangle that monster".

"You forget, I grew up with Chase", Chrissie replied with a chuckle, "I'm used to dealing with egoistical men". She took another glance at the obelisk, something about the stone structure was still giving her the creeps, "Did Chase ever tell you he wanted to be an archaeologist", she continued. Bastian shook his head in response, "He and Jeremy watched Raiders Of The Lost Ark one day and decided they wanted to be just like Indiana Jones. They would spend hours acting out their dreams of following in his footsteps".

"Sounds like something he would do", Bastian shrugged.

"Yeah and guess who got stuck playing the plucky girl that Indy had to rescue", Chrissie pointed dramatically at herself. "As they got older and found out how much studying was involved they gave up on that dream". She looked up into the darkening sky and sighed, "They swore they would travel the world together, at least that came true".

Bastian took a couple of steps and stood next to the young woman. He gaze remained on the obelisk for a couple of moments until he stated, "You miss him, don't you?" It was a rhetorical question and Bastian wasn't expecting an answer. He could see the blonde's eyes moistening at the thought of her deceased fiancée, "Not matter how much time passes, you never forget them", he continued, "not a day goes past when I don't think about my wife".

"Tyler's Mom?" Chrissie asked and the former Silver Ranger nodded in response, "you never remarried?"

"Nope", Bastian stated, "and I never will". Silence descended between the pair as they thought about their sadly departed partners, "Not long after she passed I chose to seek out the guardian stones and the Brachio Zord", he paused and bit on his lip, "I regret leaving my son alone for so long".

"Why are you telling me this?" Chrissie asked in confusion, unsure why someone who was practically a stranger was baring their soul to her.

"Because I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did", he shrugged, "you're still young, don't forget that you need to carry on living". Chrissie glanced over at the former Silver Ranger, she didn't respond but she took his advice on board, "We'd better head back", he said sharply and turned away from the young woman, walking quickly back to the camp. Chrissie blinked a couple of times in an attempt to figure Bastian out. The pair had bonded over the last couple of days and she looked up to him as a highly respected archaeologist. Maybe in time she could see him as a surrogate Uncle. There was a deep sadness to the man that rarely saw the light of day. From what she understood he had spent nearly ten years wondering the planet by himself but at least he had a purpose, something to focus his mind from his own grief. Now that purpose had been served, maybe he was a little lost. Shaking off her unease from the obelisk she too returned to camp, resolving to follow Bastian's advice.

When she was out of sight, a figure emerged from the shadows and approached the stone structure, "Such delicious sorrow", he stated before a hacking cough interrupted his speech. When the coughing stopped he looked around to make sure that no one had heard him, "That was a close one". Stepping a little further into the light the figure revealed himself as General Sorrow, one of the last remnants of the Deboss.

Things had been a little depressing for General Sorrow since the fall of his Master. Although he normally revelled in misery, he found that his own wasn't as sweet as the suffering of others. Without Master Deboss to sustain him, his body was slowly breaking down. Only by leeching off of other people's negativity could he sustain his failing body. Without a purpose in life he was literally falling to pieces.

That's when he found out about this location, something that could be his salvation. It was a risky plan, the creature buried underneath could judge him unworthy of living and strike him down in moments. Alternatively the reward could be tremendous, he could be restored to health as the Deboss reigned over the planet like they were supposed to, "Not long now", Sorrow stroked the structure and retreated into the shadows once more. His plan would come to fruition tomorrow, the day of judgment was approaching.


End file.
